Duhdee is a big fan of home automation. He uses Home Control Assistant and has set up lots of handy, dandy geeky programs. For example, there is a control pad at our front door with various programmed buttons. There is one for when we’re home and one for when we’re away. There is one for when Duhdee walks the dogs solo and one for when we take a family walk. There is one for when we’re on vacation. Each button runs a different program and either turns lights on or turns them off. Nice. Except when the program doesn’t run properly and it keeps shutting off the light you’re using. Ahem.
He has other things programmed as well. Certain lights in our house turn on just before sunset, regardless of when sunset occurs throughout the year, the lights for our fish tank turn on and off on a schedule and when our Christmas lights are up, they too are turned on and off on a schedule. Since the whole house is set up with wireless internet he was even able to create two buttons for Grampy, when Grampy pushes one of them a request for assistance is broadcast in our house via wireless speakers and e-mails are sent to Duhdee and I. The e-mails even tell us which button he pushed so we can give that information to 911 if neither of us is home. This is a very, very good use of the system.
There is also a program to tell us when the washing cycle on our washing machine is done. The laundry is in the basement and we’re on the 2nd floor. We’ve forgotten about laundry numerous times before so I do see why Duhdee set it up, but it is tremendously geeky, no?
Getting to the point of this really long explanation…and there is a Monkey related point…when the lovely lady’s voice announces that “The washing cycle should be done. The washing cycle should be done.” Monkey will run out and start talking to her. “Hewwo! Hi!”
Too bad Duhdee can’t program her to talk back, lol.